Hi all I was wondering what things some of you have done that maybe usefull going forward for people looking to build a pond. What tips or tricks have you learnt that you can pass on to the next generation of KOIKeepers.

Any tips for the initial first lay of concrete? how to set the bottom drain and so fourth?

Love to hear your experiences.

Graham

hi graham

one thing to do when you lay bottom drains in is after you have glued all the pipe work set the bottom drain on a small base around 4inch think and bench the concrete around the drain to hold it in place and also put some concrete around the pipe too to hold it in place and do this the day before you lay the concrete base

on the day you lay the base fill the drain and pipe up with water as when the concrete base goes down the drain and pipe will most likely lift up .

hope you understand and it helps ?

this is how i have done all the drains and pipe work on all the pond builds i have done and i have done a few

darren

Also when laying bottom drains, after filling with water as Darren says, seal the top of the drain with plastic sheet and duck tape.This will stop concrete going into the pipework. I made this mistake once and had to dig out the pipe and drain

Neil

Hi All,

Base construction is probaly the most important part of pond building! ( apart from filtration, that's the heart of the system)

From my experiance when pouring base's these rules apply;

Depending on ground conditions always lay a plastic membrane, not this thin 500 gauge see through stuff 1000/1200 guage visqueen or similar, this works in two ways, first stops any water coming up from below ground causing problems & stops your base from getting contaminated with muck/soil underneath. This may well take a few more days to dry out enough to work off but its the best way. You also need to ensure you turn the plastic up the walls at least to the minimum of the base depth generally 9" deep.

Position your bottom drain/s on the base, if using 1 then the best place is slap bang in the middle of your floor, more than 1 then divide your floor into sections & position accordingly,now depending on what type of drain your using you will have 1 run of pipework but poss 2 if using an aireated drain (this will be 1" pipe), position them first & dry fit them before glueing up ensuring enough pipework is outside the base, & always put a swept 90 deg bend on the 4" run that will feed your filter, same goes for your airline pipe turn upwards with a 90 & a short lenght of pipe.


Once your happy with that mark up the pipe & glue together, leave for a couple of hrs to cure, then you can pressure test your run, you can do this a couple of ways Air test or water test, this will tell you if the run is "tight".

Air testing is by far the best way but unless you know what your doing or how to do it can be a little tricky water testing is fine but generally takes alot llonger to do as you need to leave over nite to see if you have any leaks. I personally think water testing is now out dated, & prefer air testing as it's a lot less hassle.


Pouring the fllor is straight forward enough, but agian simple rules apply, make sure you have your rienforcing mesh cut to size & in position making sure you have at least a 100mm void below the mesh, (best thing for this is a BRICK but you can get proper "chairs " for the stell to sit on) always ensure that your bottom drains are covered, i generally use the liner plate part of the B/D sandwiching plastic between that & the top of the drain & secure with 4 screws.

Then you can pour your crete making sure its not to stiff or to wet & you have a fall towards your B/D this does not have to be a huge fall but enoungh to help with pulling the c**p towards the drain.

Hope that helps

My tip is if you get "stuck" write a post on koikeepers for expert advice, always works for me!!!

here is one for ya, if you put a steel grid in the base you can half the amount of concrete needed in a large base.

Don't rush and make sure you have it all planned and have seen as many set ups as you can before you start

Do it right do it once